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Friday, December 2, 2016

Maria Andersen gave a terrific keynote address at AMATYC's conference this year. The video is available below. Her talk starts at the 44 minute mark.

The presentation resonated with me because the suggestions she gave are what we aim for in pathways courses like Math Lit. She talked about how we need to have real interaction in our classes, that we learn from experience, not just lecture, and how challenge and curiosity matter. She talked about the importance of varied practice, a key component of the content development in Math Lit, which is different from the mass practice concept used so commonly. That explanations are useful when students need them, after they've been working on something and there is confusion. And that students being stuck sometimes is important. All of her assertions are backed by research.

Her style is engaging and her message is timely and meaningful. Please take a look.

Current Projects

My main project is creating the Mathematical Literacy for College Students (MLCS) course in IL and beyond. It is similar to the first course in the Carnegie Quantway Initiative. This course is for a student placing into beginning algebra who is a non-STEM major. It incorporates numeracy, proportional reasoning, algebraic reasoning, functions, geometry, and statistics along with critical thinking, reading, writing, and problem solving. I worked with a colleague, Heather Foes, to pilot and co-author a book, Math Lit, which is published by Pearson.

I am a member of AMATYC's New Life for Developmental Math that worked with the Carnegie Foundation to create the course and its objectives. I took the objectives and modified them slightly to be more acceptable in IL and started the process of bringing the course to life in IL. Additionally, I'm working with faculty throughout the country to modify the course to make it work for their state requirements and college needs. If you are interested in this course or some derivative of it, please email me.

We have a successful developmental math redesign (documents available below) but felt not all students were served. The MLCS course adds another layer to the redesign and supports students who are not STEM-bound.